The Royal Alberta Museum presents The Wonderful Wizard of Oz an experiential travelling exhibition created by Great Explorations Children’s Museum of St. Petersburg, Florida. Open through January 2, 2011.
L. Frank Baum wrote a magical story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, with original art by W. W. Denslow. In no time, it became a national sensation and a cultural icon as the foremost American fairytale.
This larger than life pop-up book exhibition dazzles the eyes and stimulates the mind using creativity, play and exploration. Visitors literally step into the pages of the story at each exhibit section designed as an open book. Science, art and history are explored through the wonder of this timeless story with hands-on activities and interactive exhibits such as puppets of Oz with a message of tolerance, the Tin Woodsman sharing physiology of the heart, and Scarecrow allowing visitors to pick his brain! Visitors follow the characters on their journey along the ‘road of yellow brick’ through the Land of Oz and by the end, visitors and the story’s characters learn more about themselves with a complement of character-building learning curriculum.
This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and is endorsed by the International Wizard of Oz Club and the L. Frank Baum Family Trust.
The Royal Alberta Museum opened to the public on December 6, 1967 under its original name – The Provincial Museum of Alberta. This achievement was the result of a partnership between the federal government’s Confederation Memorial Centennial Program and the Government of Alberta. Planning had begun in the 1950s, but a museum professional was not hired to guide the project until 1962. In 1964, federal funding and matching provincial funds were announced. Raymond O. Harrison, an Australian, was hired and given $5M and three years to find a site, hire staff, build collections, construct a museum and prepare exhibits to fill 4000 square metres.
www.royalalbertamuseum.ca